Expect the End Headlines Demoiselle

Expect the End looking to win her first graded stakes at Aqueduct on Nov. 24.

Expect the End has never raced in a graded stakes, but she could have the final say in the $200,000 Demoiselle Stakes (gr. II) at Aqueduct on Nov. 24.

A New York-bred daughter of Precise End, Expect the End meets six others in the 1 1/8-mile race for 2-year-old fillies.

Looking professional while winning her last three starts in restricted stakes for trainer Richard Dutrow Jr., Expect the End was claimed for $30,000 in May for IEAH Stables, Sanford Goldfarb, Michael Dubb, and Cast of Characters Stable.

Expect the End has yet to race beyond a mile, nor around two turns, but Dutrow isn’t worried.

“I can’t wait to run her,” said Dutrow, who has won two of the last three runnings of the Demoiselle. “Her training has just elevated since her last race. I have confidence she will handle the two turns.”

Cornelio Velasquez rides Expect the End, who figures to be prominent in the early stages of the Demoiselle. She breaks from post 2.

Mushka, a $1.6 million yearling purchase at Saratoga’s select Fasig-Tipton sale, won a maiden race in her second start for trainer Bill Mott and owner Zayat Stables. A daughter of Empire Maker, Mushka made up ground in the stretch to win the mile race by a neck at Belmont Park on Oct. 19. She figures to relish the increase in distance and is a major player in the Demoiselle.

Like Mushka, Sunday Elegance takes the leap from maiden to graded stakes company. A daughter of Sunday Break, Sunday Elegance won a two-turn race in the mud at Monmouth Park by nearly 14 lengths in her third start on Oct. 25.

Sunday Elegance’s trainer, Todd Pletcher, said a myectomy to correct a breathing problem was performed on the filly after her second start.

“She is a high-strung filly and was displacing her palate,” Pletcher said. “She broke well in her last race, and was able to get to the front without a lot of encouragement. This is a huge step up in class, but it will be interesting to see how she handles it.”

Elusive Lady, the lone graded winner in the field, won Aqueduct’s Tempted Stakes (gr. III) for trainer John Kimmel on Oct. 28.